Born in Bethlehem, Free State [South Africa] on the 23rd of March 1991, a journey of life started in the countryside of the South African midlands. From a young age an interest in nature and the landscape, of which South Africa boasts of in abundance, has influenced how I perceive the world.

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After completing my secondary education, being homeschooled through the Higher International General Certificate of Secondary Education (HIGCSE), offered by Cambridge University, UK, life into the real world started. Being homeschooled offered the opportunity to explore, invent and create, which developed an interest in mechanism and machines. Through this method of learning I developed a keen interest in design, physical science and art, sculpting in particular, which would eventually lead to an interest in architecture.

 

As most boys growing up in South Africa, sport played a major role in my life, with cricket and tennis being my main sports in which I applied myself. Having played district provincial cricket for Eastern Free State in 2008 & 2009, my mindset was primarily set on realizing a professional sport career. Post school, I joined the SSE Cricket Academy in Pretoria, Gauteng, to further my cricketing career which eventually led to two successful seasons in North Wales and Northern England, United Kingdom, as an overseas amateur player. On my travels I was exposed to a whole new world, people, cultures and environments. It was in these post school years where my schooling interests grew and overcame my ambition to establish a professional sport career. 

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Whilst I believed mechanical engineering was the right field in which I could apply my interests, the lack of artistic expression, human connection and rigid conformities led me to seek out alternatives. In 2015 I was exposed to architecture at a university open day, and on this day everything seemed to come together and make sense. The built environment and artistic design converged into a single field. I pursued my interest in architecture, and the Architecture Department of the University of Free State offered an internationally accredited program to which I was accepted in 2015.

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I started my architecture studies in January 2016, acquiring my Bachelor's degree in 2018, my Honour's degree in 2019, and my Master's Degree with distinction in December 2020. As part of my architectural education I was accepted to an exchange program with Appalachian State University, North Carolina, for the 1st semester of 2018. Arriving in New York City, one can only be amazed, and admire the impact left by those architects before and current, and seek to learn and make an equally meaningful impact on society in the future. This opportunity to experience another culture and society, as well as an alternative insight into the field of educational architecture, grew my interest in international architecture of which a young architect can only learn from.

 

My architectural journey has only started, but as a student of life I am ready to start the next chapter, to explore and learn all that I can from architecture in as many as possible diverse communities, cultures and locations.

 

Architecture is in many ways a synthesis of ideas, meanings and abilities of a society expressed in tangible forms, which should enhance the experience of the user who interacts with the space.